RATTAN - THE TOOL OF EVERY FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTIST

Rattan-plants have a diameter of max. 10 cm and grow mainly in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Its natural color is yellow to brown with green and grey tones. They were peeled and then colored.

Characteristic:

Knots, rough parts and crevices , partly dark spots with marks of insect damage. Today rattan is being cultivated in gardens or plantages. There are more than 200 different rattan-sorts, but there are only 6 hard ones which are good enough for cultivation. It is up to 25 meters long and absolutely crooked. It is formed by warming it with steam, which is some hundred gradues celsius hot. The more knots there are the harder is the stick. Rattan is used by philippine martial artists, because the energy which is put on the stick will not be tr VALIGN="Top"ansferred to the arm. This would happen permanent, when you use plastic or hard-wood-sticks. A rattan-stick even more will not break so that the parts fly through the room, which could hurt other persons. It is also better for your fingers, when they are hit by a rattan stick, than by a hard-wood-stick. The danger of Arthrose is very high, when your finger-joints are hit by a hard-wood-stick several times. This is very painful and you cannot move your fingers anymore. Don´t let yourself tell from any guro, that you have to hit yourselves with half trees. These people have no clue and therefore attack you health. I myself did this 20 years ago and that´s the reason why my fingers look the way they do today.

Ash  - (USA) hard, leight
Can used for : Staff's, Knifegrips, Escrimasticks

 
Bahi - (Asia) phil. Hardwood from the heart of a Palmtree, firehardet - 2 Variation - brown and black. The black one are much harder but very rare to find and extremly expensive.
Can used for : Sticks,wooden - swords, knifegrips

 
Bloodwood  - (Central & Southamerika) darkred colour, hard
Can used for: Sticks, Handgrips
 
 
Bocote - (Mexico) In yellow and darkbrown, very hard but lighter as Cocobolo.
Can used for : Sticks

 
Bubinga  - (Africa) warm brown colour. Middelheavy,
Can used for : Sticks, Staff's etc.

 
Cocobolo - (Southamerica) maron / black colour, sometimes with orange lines. Very hard and heavy but can break - too hard. Expensive
Can used for : Very good for Sticks, wooden - swords etc.

 
Ebony  - (Southpacific) Black, sometimes also darkelbrown,very hard but can break - too hard
Can used for : Sticks

 
Hickory  - (USA) hard, light and flexibel
Can used for : Sticks, Staff's,
 
Katalox  - (Mexico) middelbrown, hard, heavy, very good hitting power (high shock loading)
Can used for : Sticks
 
Padauk - (Africa) red, leight und hard
Can used for : Knifegrips,
 
Purpleheart  - (Brasil) darkviolet,very hard and heavy,
Can used for : Sticks, Staff's

 
Verawood - (Venezuela) green,hard, flexibel,
Can used for : Sticks,Knifegrips, Wooden Swords
 
Walnut - (USA) middelgrey, light and hard, cant used for Stick
Can used for : Grips
 
Wenge  - (Africa) darkbrown with fine black lines, hard, flexibel and heavy,
Can used for : Sticks, Staffs etc.
 
Yakal  - (Asia) lightbrown, very hard, is often used for bridge-constructions